Oh PaPeRo, what have they done?

Someday we'll look back at decisions like this and understand why The Robots have risen against us. It turns out that NEC's wine tasting robot is just their little food taster all growed-up and hooked on the vices of drink and cigarettes just like little German girls. Poor little guy, if we see you staggering the halls of CES in a wife-beater smelling of sewage then we'll know it's the booze talkin', not our sweet, sweet PaPeRo.

[Thanks, Daniel]

[Peter Smith @ Sep 5th 2006 9:31AM]

I for one welcome our cute robotic overlords to join me at the next AA meeting

First time!

[0r3n @ Sep 5th 2006 9:33AM]

Can you say Bender from Futurama?

[electro^plankton @ Sep 5th 2006 9:46AM]

That is some cheap ass wine you got there

[Chocolate Starfish @ Sep 5th 2006 10:31AM]

I hope that light on his arm is a laser beam charging to destroy whoever bought an Australian wine. Antifreeze belongs in my car, not my beverages.

[Cliff @ Sep 5th 2006 11:05AM]

Staggering in a wife-beater smelling of sewage. lol nicely written

[Ian Horner @ Sep 5th 2006 11:11AM]

Well it's a shame that there's so much hate for Yellow Tail shiraz going on here. That happens to be one of my favourite (everyday) wines...

The question of course is, what does the robot think. I always trust technology to bring me what I'm looking for...

[Gio - NYC @ Sep 5th 2006 11:16AM]

Why would i want a robot to taste wine for me? Is this generation that lazy?

[Perrey Z. @ Sep 5th 2006 12:28PM]

I for one welcome our short but cute soon-to-be drunk as hell robotic overlords.

Peter Smith: Remember the time when Engadget pull the rights to post comments for an entire week because they were mad-tired with all that sh!t of "First Post" or "First time!" and endless fighting? well let's stop at that before it's too late.

Gio NYC: Right, what would be next? robots that will wipe our asses and help us become better cheaters and compulsive liars.

[Wry Cooter @ Sep 5th 2006 12:42PM]

Because you would rather not drink vinegar?

Why did royalty have servants taste their food? To make sure they were not getting handed SOS.

[B from TX @ Sep 5th 2006 1:41PM]

Is it lazy to work your ass off to buy such a robot to waste your beverage on? Lazy it is not, thirsty I am.

[JS @ Sep 5th 2006 2:09PM]

Wine patron #1: "Hey, what's this plunger on the robots arm!?"
Wine patron #2: "Probably explains the taste. What does this other arm do?"
Dalek wine bot: "Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"

[Jeff Buechler @ Sep 5th 2006 2:13PM]

You mean "Eliminate. Elimiante"? Robotic pee...now that's scary.

[Ici @ Sep 6th 2006 12:45AM]

but.... but... it has no mouth! I need my little robot drinking buddy to have a mouth.

[Taylor Kesler @ Sep 6th 2006 4:27AM]

Reminds me of Jed the humanoid as built by the members of grandaddy on their album "The Software Slump" they create a humanoid to solve problems for them and such and then they forget about him and stop paying attention to him and he drinks all their booze and dies...